An Artificial neural network (ANN) is an information processing hypothesis that is stimulated by the way natural nervous system, such as brain, process information. The using of artificial neural network in civil engineering is getting more and more credit all over the world in last decades. This soft computing method has been shown to be very effective in the analysis and solution of civil engineering problems. It is defined as a body which works out the more and more complex problem through sequential algorithms. It is designed on the basis of artificial intelligence which is proficient of storing more and more information's. In this work, we have investigated the various architectures of ANN and their learning process. The artificial neural network-based method was widely applied to the civil engineering because of the strong non-linear relationship between known and unknown of the problems. They come with good modelling in areas where conventional approaches (finite elements, finite differences etc.) require large computing resources or time to solve problems. These includes to study the behaviour of building materials, structural identification and control problems, in geo-technical engineering like earthquake induced liquefaction potential, in heat transfer problems in civil engineering to improve air quality, in transportation engineering like identification of traffic problems to improve its flexibility , in construction technology and management to estimate the cost of buildings and in building services issues like analyzing the water distribution network etc. Researches reveals that the method is realistic and it will be fascinated for more civil engineering applications.